NOAA NCEI Climate Normals 1991–2020
South Carolina Weather by Month
Temperature, rain and the hurricane season at 72 South Carolina stations, month by month.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
The median station records 48.6 inches of precipitation a year; Jocassee 8 WNW, SC records the most, 87.5 inches, and Mccoll 3 NNW, SC the least, 41.6 (2.1 times as much). July is the hottest month at the median station (average high 91°F); the hottest July is at Columbia Univ Of Sc, SC, 96°F. January is the coldest (average low 33°F); the coldest January nights are at Jocassee 8 WNW, SC, 26°F. Highs reach 90°F on 61 days a year at the median station and on 107 at Columbia Univ Of Sc, SC, the most. Snowfall is heaviest at Caesars Head, SC, 7.3 inches a year; 13 of the 37 stations that measure snow average less than half an inch.
This page compares the 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals of 72 South Carolina weather stations, each the nearest station with full normals to at least one of the 244 South Carolina cities on this site that have one within 25 miles.
At the median station, August is the wettest month (5.0 inches) and April the driest (3.3). Station by station, the wettest month is August at 25, July at 18 and June at 11 of the 72, and the driest November at 24, October at 16 and April at 14. The gap between the wettest and driest station is widest in August: 5.6 inches.
Month by month across South Carolina
High, low and precipitation are the median of the 72 stations; the station columns name the station with the highest average high, the lowest average low, and the most and least precipitation that month, each linked to the city page it serves. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Hurricane season in South Carolina
June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation at the median station, from 47% at W Pelzer, SC to 62% at Charleston City, SC. Since 1851, 186 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of a South Carolina city on this site, 61 of them at hurricane strength at their closest point to one; September has brought the most (63), then October (40). 6 came outside June to November.
| Month | Tropical systems | At hurricane strength | Median precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 | 3.9 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | 3.3 |
| May | 6 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Jun | 24 | 2 | 4.7 |
| Jul | 17 | 6 | 4.8 |
| Aug | 33 | 13 | 5.0 |
| Sep | 63 | 25 | 4.3 |
| Oct | 40 | 15 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 3 | 0 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 | 4.0 |
Tropical systems from NOAA NHC HURDAT2 that passed within 75 miles of a South Carolina city on this site, each counted once, in the month of its first such pass; hurricane strength is the track's wind at its closest point to a city.
Coastal water temperature by month
South Carolina has one NOAA tide station with a full year of water temperature, Charleston, SC: 86°F in July and 54°F in January. The median station averages 80°F or warmer in June, July, August and September.
| Station | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston, SC | 54 | 54 | 61 | 68 | 76 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 73 | 65 | 57 |
°F, average of hourly readings 2021–2025; a month counts when at least three years have half their hours on record. Source: NOAA Tides & Currents; the newest readings are preliminary.
South Carolina cities and their stations
| City | Station | Miles | Hottest month high °F | Coldest month low °F | Year precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | Columbia Univ Of Sc, SC | 5 | 96 | 37 | 48.0 |
| Greenville | Greenville, SC | 2 | 87 | 30 | 50.6 |
| Charleston | Charleston City, SC | 4 | 88 | 44 | 44.5 |
| Myrtle Beach | Conway, SC | 10 | 91 | 35 | 55.2 |
| Lexington | Columbia, SC | 7 | 93 | 35 | 45.4 |
| Spartanburg | Spartanburg 3 SSE, SC | 3 | 90 | 32 | 50.3 |
| Summerville | Charleston International Airport, SC | 11 | 91 | 39 | 52.7 |
| Rock Hill | Winthrop Univ, SC | <1 | 91 | 33 | 42.6 |
| North Charleston | Charleston International Airport, SC | <1 | 91 | 39 | 52.7 |
| Simpsonville | Greenville, SC | 8 | 87 | 30 | 50.6 |
| Anderson | Anderson, SC | 1 | 91 | 33 | 50.4 |
| Mount Pleasant | Sullivans Is, SC | 6 | 91 | 37 | 51.6 |
| Greer | Greer, SC | 3 | 90 | 32 | 49.6 |
| Florence | Florence Regional Airport, SC | 3 | 92 | 36 | 45.3 |
| Fort Mill | Rock Hill York Co Airport, SC | 6 | 90 | 31 | 42.6 |
| Sumter | Sumter, SC | 2 | 90 | 33 | 49.0 |
| Conway | Conway, SC | <1 | 91 | 35 | 55.2 |
| Aiken | Aiken 5SE, SC | 3 | 93 | 35 | 50.8 |
| Goose Creek | Charleston International Airport, SC | 7 | 91 | 39 | 52.7 |
| West Columbia | Columbia, SC | <1 | 93 | 35 | 45.4 |
| North Augusta | Augusta Daniel Field Airport, GA | 7 | 94 | 40 | 44.8 |
| Taylors | Greenville Dwtn Airport, SC | 6 | 91 | 35 | 47.2 |
| Orangeburg | Orangeburg 2, SC | 2 | 93 | 37 | 50.6 |
| Moncks Corner | Moncks Corner 4 N, SC | 6 | 93 | 38 | 52.4 |
| Gaffney | Ninety Nine Is, SC | 10 | 88 | 27 | 45.3 |
| Ladson | Charleston International Airport, SC | 8 | 91 | 39 | 52.7 |
| Irmo | Cedar Creek 2E, SC | 10 | 90 | 29 | 45.7 |
| Seneca | Clemson Oconee Co Airport, SC | 4 | 89 | 34 | 49.1 |
| Indian Land | Winthrop Univ, SC | 10 | 91 | 33 | 42.6 |
| Boiling Springs | Chesnee 7 WSW, SC | 5 | 89 | 27 | 51.6 |
| Piedmont | W Pelzer, SC | 6 | 90 | 31 | 48.0 |
| Blythewood | Cedar Creek 2E, SC | 5 | 90 | 29 | 45.7 |
| Elgin | Sandhill Rsch - Elgin, SC | 4 | 93 | 33 | 46.2 |
| Chapin | Little Mountain, SC | 7 | 91 | 35 | 45.8 |
| Johns Island | Charleston City, SC | 10 | 88 | 44 | 44.5 |
| Darlington | Darlington, SC | <1 | 92 | 32 | 47.8 |
| Camden | Sandhill Rsch - Elgin, SC | 19 | 93 | 33 | 46.2 |
| Clemson | Clemson Univ, SC | 5 | 91 | 33 | 52.6 |
| Laurens | Laurens, SC | <1 | 91 | 30 | 46.8 |
| Hanahan | Moncks Corner 4 N, SC | 4 | 93 | 38 | 52.4 |
The 40 largest of 95 South Carolina city pages in search. All South Carolina cities and their storm history →
How stations are matched to cities and what normals are: methodology · other states by month